Almost there wrote:I went to the Medicare website to fill out an application 3 months before turning 65.

However, I did not sign up since I don't know what questions to expect in the online "Medicare only" application.
P.S. I will sign up next year for Social Security benefits.

Can someone tell me what questions I have to answer other than the obvious personal ones?

Almost there

I have no idea, but most online applications end with submit. If you don't click on submit, you haven't applied. My suggestion. Go to the site. Start filing out the application. You will see the questions they ask. I went far enough to see that the first questions are who are you applying for and if you are blind. I stopped, and I was not arrested. I think it will work for you as well.

Edit added: I think I saw a saved button, so they don't mind if you fill out half and stop.

Last edited by sscritic on Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

dbr wrote:It is possible you have to choose whether or not you are electing coverages A and B or only A. You would want to know that.

Before you hit submit. The OP wanted to know what questions he would be asked, not what answers he should give. I am guessing you are correct that he will be asked what coverage he will want. Maybe he will want Part C and not Parts A and B. Of course, in that case he may not want to use the online application but talk to the provider of the Medicare Advantage Plan he has chosen.

Now that I think of it, I can't imagine that an insurance company selling medicare insurance wouldn't want to help you sign up. In my case, I was already in a health plan and getting social security. Both the health plan and social security sent me letters telling me how to sign up. Only the letter from the health plan told me how to sign up for their medicare advantage program. No, I left someone else out. My retirement system also sent me letters. I had to coordinate all three, SS, health care provider, and retirement system. All three already knew my name, but I think I still had to put it on all my paper work.

dbr wrote:It is possible you have to choose whether or not you are electing coverages A and B or only A. You would want to know that.

Before you hit submit. The OP wanted to know what questions he would be asked, not what answers he should give. I am guessing you are correct that he will be asked what coverage he will want. Maybe he will want Part C and not Parts A and B. Of course, in that case he may not want to use the online application but talk to the provider of the Medicare Advantage Plan he has chosen.

Now that I think of it, I can't imagine that an insurance company selling medicare insurance wouldn't want to help you sign up. In my case, I was already in a health plan and getting social security. Both the health plan and social security sent me letters telling me how to sign up. Only the letter from the health plan told me how to sign up for their medicare advantage program. No, I left someone else out. My retirement system also sent me letters. I had to coordinate all three, SS, health care provider, and retirement system. All three already knew my name, but I think I still had to put it on all my paper work.

Yep, my retirement plan wanted me to sign up to continue retiree medical coverage rather than buy Medigap. You really had to work the system to terminate the retiree plan until a couple of years later they terminated it themselves. Even more amazing, if you do select A,B, Medigap, etc., they fully fund a Health Care Reimbursement Account with the money they would have used to supplement the retiree health plan, and they have not terminated the HCRA.

Somewhere they will ask if you have any other health insurance. That's where I went wrong. I was still employed when I applied, so I said that I had insurance through my employer. I continued that insurance after I retired. I guess I answered incorrectly because my first few claims were billed to my employer's policy as primary and to Medicare as secondary. It should have been the other way around. I had to call Medicare three times ot correct it. Each time they said they were correcting it, but it would take 30 days for the change to enter the system. Four months later, I applied for Social Security benefits over the telephone. That agent finally corrected the mistake, but all the claims had to be recycled one or more times. So be careful about how you answer that question. I still don't know how I went wrong.

While the moments do summersaults into eternity |
Cling to their coattails and beg them to stay - Townes Van Zandt

This is good to know. I'm carrying my FEHB into retirement and will be applying for Medicare B. (I already signed up for Medicare B when I turned sixty-five.) I am retiring January 11, 2014, so I guess I should wait until January 12, 2014 to apply for Medicare B.

gkaplan wrote:This is good to know. I'm carrying my FEHB into retirement and will be applying for Medicare B. (I already signed up for Medicare B when I turned sixty-five.) I am retiring January 11, 2014, so I guess I should wait until January 12, 2014 to apply for Medicare B.

gkaplan wrote:This is good to know. I'm carrying my FEHB into retirement and will be applying for Medicare B. (I already signed up for Medicare B when I turned sixty-five.) I am retiring January 11, 2014, so I guess I should wait until January 12, 2014 to apply for Medicare B.

A or B, what's the difference? Hint: one is deductions, the other is interest and dividends.

gkaplan wrote:This is good to know. I'm carrying my FEHB into retirement and will be applying for Medicare B. (I already signed up for Medicare B when I turned sixty-five.) I am retiring January 11, 2014, so I guess I should wait until January 12, 2014 to apply for Medicare B.

A or B, what's the difference? Hint: one is deductions, the other is interest and dividends.

sscritic wrote:Was I too subtle? He signed up for B before, but he will sign up for B again in 2014. Maybe two Bs are better than one A and one B, but I like one of each.

I just didn't understand it. But now I have to pay attention now. My Dad finally retired. He's 87, meaning 65 + 22. (My Mom is 80.) He got a severance package, so they have health benefits until late Summer. Long story, which I'll save for another thread (and to keep this one on-topic). Then, you can ask me a lot more questions.

How long does it take to go through this application process? Maybe I should start asking questions sooner than I thought.

To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.

For Gordon:
You have 8 month SEP (Special Enrollment Period) to enroll in Medicare Part B.
Of course, you can apply for Part B any time prior to January 11, 2014.
Please note that Medicare enrollment effective dates are always the 1st of
next month.

For Almost there:
You will be directed to SSA.GOV website to enroll into Medicare.
Medicare enrollment means enrolling into Part A and/or Part B.

For Almost there:
You will be directed to SSA.GOV website to enroll into Medicare.
Medicare enrollment means enrolling into Part A and/or Part B.

Thank you very much for that info.

ndchamp wrote:

You could always stop by your local SS office (avoid Mondays) and talk to somebody about your options. Just a thought.

I have read a lot about going to the local office, however, they are only open from 9:00 - 3:00 PM and Wednesday from 9:00 - noon. Since I am working as a temp and just started to work there, I don't want to take off from work.

Just finished filling out my Medicare online application and, as I thought would happen, it did throw me a curve.

The application asked if I was born in the U.S. or am I am naturalized citizen?
Yes, I am a naturalized citizen. So now they wanted the date of the naturalization. Well, I finally found the certificate, which I thought for sure I had placed in my safe deposit box. Now I am sure they will come back with more questions.